God save the queen
by Ihnldy
Summary: Will Susan find closure?
1. Chapter 1

Waves beat against the rocky shore as a raven haired girl walked dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. She looked down, knowing it would be fatal should she slip. How would it feel to fly through the air and feel the wind rush past her face? Many times had she come to this place to find solace, only to feel the vast emptiness consume her.

When would the pain subside? How many years would pass before she would awaken one morning and not feel bitter rage because she still breathed, still lived?

_I just want to be with you_, she thought, as she had thought a thousand times before looking out over the ocean. _I miss you so much! All of you._

She could not stop the tears from streaming down her face as she thought of them again. In one day they had been taken from her. In one day her world had been turned upside down.

That was five years ago. Five years was not nearly long enough to lessen her agony. And still the icy fingers of black despair clutched at her heart.

She felt so cold inside. The life she had been so proud of all those years ago had slowly crumbled around her. Her days were a gray haze filled with regrets and sorrows.  
The only peace came in her dreams. She would often dream of a beautiful land filled with sunshine and laughter. And that was the only place she could be with them. Even her mother and father were there, laughing and telling stories.

Impulse had never driven her, but as she peered over the edge of the cliff, the desire was too strong. She closed her eyes and stepped forward.

A steely arm wrapped itself around her waist and pulled her back…

**AN: Well, that was depressing. Now I need some chocolate…**


	2. Chapter 2

The prince and his companion looked out over the vastness of the sea.

It was time to go home now; time to see old friends and loved ones.

He had lived a very long life and now it was time for him to gracefully depart from this world.

And yet something did not settle right in the prince's heart.

Something wasn't finished. There were still undiscovered lands; there were still unmet challenges.

Just a while longer he wished to tarry. Just a while longer…

"Something doesn't feel right," the dwarf beside him grumbled. "It feels almost like we're going the wrong way."  
A jolt of excitement shot through the prince, "You feel it too, then?"

The dwarf looked up at him in surprise, then a mischievous grin broke out across his face and he chuckled. "What say we explore these waters a while longer, lad?"

And so it happened that the prince and the dwarf turned from their course and sailed into the wind…

***

"This is not a country recorded on any map I have ever seen," the prince said to his dwarf companion as they climbed to the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

"I'm not sure I like this place," the dwarf said in answer. "What do you think, my friend? Should we continue on, or go back to the sea?"

The fair prince walked ahead a few paces before catching sight of someone in the distance. "Look!" he said quietly, "There is a lady walking along the cliff. Why does she walk so near the edge?"  
The dwarf squinted against the sunlight looking the way his friend was pointing. "I see what you mean. It seems the lady wishes to jump."  
"Surely not!" the prince cried, soundlessly sprinting ahead to where the lady walked.

***

_Come and join us!_ The rocks cried out to her. _End your pain!_

The young woman closed her eyes and took her last step…

Or so she thought. A band of steel encircled her waist and pulled her back against a solid and unyielding chest.  
She was swung around and carried several paces away from the cliff before she was again set on her feet. But her mind was too numb to think much about it.

In a moment the arm would remove itself from her waist, and she would resume her so rudely interrupted journey to the rocks.

She opened her eyes and was met with the sight of a very short man with a bushy beard standing a few feet away and surveying her with open curiosity. A dwarf? She frowned as something stirred in her mind like a memory long, long forgotten. Faces and places flashed through her mind like a bullet, and where gone just as sudden. She closed her eyes again, rubbing her temples.  
"Have you a death wish that compels you to act so foolishly?" the question came from the one who had jerked her away from the edge, and who had as of yet neglected to remove his arm from around her waist.

"I was not acting foolishly. I was only watching the tides." Her words sounded surprisingly convincing, but her _rescuer_ was not so easily deceived.

"That is a lie, little girl. You were about to jump."  
She bristled instantly, anger slowly replacing the numbness, "Don't you _dare_ call me little girl!" She tried to twist away from him. "And take your hands off of me this instant! I shall call a police man!"

"I will not release you, young one, unless you promise me to stay away from the edge of the cliff." His answer was delivered with perfect calm, with not a hint that her heated threat had affected him.

She opened her mouth to protest, but the dwarf spoke instead…  
"Don't try to reason with her, my friend. The girl is obviously mad. Perhaps we should take her with us. It would be a better end for her, would it not?"  
The girl shrieked, now angry _and_ afraid, "You will not take me anywhere! You will release me this instant!"

The prince bit down on his lip, willing himself not to laugh at the girl's valiant attempt to free herself from his grasp. It wouldn't be the best strategy to mock the girl. First she tried prying his arm off, then she tried kicking; which was a most awkward and ineffectual method. At last she reached both arms over her head and tried pulling his hair. That's when he used his other hand to capture her wrists and hold them place.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, young one," he breathed softly in her ear, "but I have no desire to see your body break into pieces on those rocks below."  
She breathed deeply, trying to ignore the tingling sensation that prickled through her at his gentle, almost musical voice.

"I will not jump from the cliff," she said stiffly.

The prince sighed, knowing the girl was telling a lie. He could sense her feelings and intensions; he knew she longed for death. And he would not simply stand by and watch her kill herself. But how to negotiate with the girl? She apparently believed that he would simply accept her at her word and leave her in peace.

"I believe I shall heed my friend's advice. You will come with us…"

"I will do no such thing!"

"…and if you refuse, it will be no great effort on my part to carry you."

She was still for a moment as she contemplated his words. "Where are you going, exactly?" she asked timidly.

The dwarf pointed down to the seashore. "At the moment, we are going down there."  
"Alright," she breathed in annoyance, "I'll go down."  
"And you won't try to run?"

"I promise I won't," her voice was once again flat.

At last the arm around her waist loosened, and she stepped away from her unwanted rescuer. She turned, ready to say something very scathing…but forgetting it instantly as she raised her eyes to the man's serene face.

She knew she probably looked like a cod fish standing there with her mouth open; but it couldn't be helped. She was well accustomed to having boys and men stare at her much the same way she was now staring at him. People had always complimented her lovely features and graceful charm; but even she felt a bit uncomfortable standing here before this perfect creature with hair like the sunshine and eyes like the sea. There was a time not so long ago when she might have openly flirted with this handsome fellow, and would have confidently expected him to reciprocate.

But now as she gazed into the eyes of this beautiful stranger, she felt rather like a small child being chastised. A blush warmed her cheeks…

"I-I uh, I will go down to the shore with you," she stuttered quietly.

**I wasn't going to post this yet; I wanted to think about it a bit longer. However, when I contacted management, I was informed that all **_**thinking**_** had been indefinitely postponed, and I should go ahead and post it if I wanted to.**


	3. Chapter 3

The prince eyed the solemn girl walking beside him. "What is your name?" he asked.

"My name is Susan. Susan Pevensie. And who might you be?" she asked with forced politeness.

"I am Legolas. This is my very good friend Gimli," he answered.  
Susan frowned at the mention of the strange names. She was more and more aware of what a strange pair these two were.

She continued on, keeping pace with the pair and looking straight ahead as they walked along the shore.

She kept quiet, her jaw set at a stubborn angle.

Legolas sighed, sensing the girl's anger. And pain. There was a deep sadness in her eyes.

"Where do you live?" he asked gently.

Susan briefly rolled her eyes as she looked away.

"I live in my home," she supplied unhelpfully.

Obviously the girl was not going to be very informative.

"Most people do, I have observed," he said wryly. "Where is the location of this home? My friend and I will take you there."

Susan regarded the small man, who gave a curt nod.

Susan shrugged. "That isn't necessary. It's across the ocean." She gave them a small mocking grin.

Legolas shrugged, returning her grin with his own; "That isn't a problem; I have a ship."

Susan frowned, shaking her head and sighing in frustration. Why couldn't these weird folk leave her

alone?

"You have a ship? How convenient. Where is it?" Her words were sarcastic, snidely clipped.

Legolas pointed out toward the sea, "There."

Susan shaded her eyes and looked out on the ocean, seeing nothing but waves.

"Oh, I see. What a lovely vessel," she mocked, "But I'm afraid I get rather sea sick on pretend ships."

Legolas was not surprised she couldn't see it. It was designed that way; only Elvin eyes could spy it in the distance.

"How fortunate for you, my lady, that my ship is not pretense. You will not become ill, I promise."

"Just go away," she answered adamantly, crossing her arms in defiance. "I don't feel like playing games."

She started off, going in the opposite direction.

Legolas watched her for a moment, debating his next course of action. Then he spoke.

"If I was telling the truth, my lady; would you come with me?"

She turned then, hands firmly planted on her hips. Her proud head cocked to one side, she said crisply, "I swear on my mother's grave, sir; if you were telling the truth, I would go with you."

***

This forest was still an unsettling place to be; nonetheless, he continued on, seeking the pool that would take him to his destination.

With a satisfied grin, he stroked the ring; his precious little trinket. It was the one thing that could show him the way; the one thing that could take him back home.

It hummed with intensity now as he came to a pool. This was the one.

He looked down, a frown creasing his brow.

It was nothing more than a small puddle. Soon it would be dried up; like the one that belonged to his great ancestors.

But there was still time.

'Soon the barbarian queen will be mine,' he thought to himself.

He stepped into the pool and vanished from the silent woods…

From behind a tree, a child crept out quietly.

He carried a pale of water with him as he neared the puddle where the man had vanished. The pool was very shallow and small.

His curiosity very great , and he had secretly followed the man . He knew that these pools could take you to other worlds; and that the ring was only way to come back.

The child feared that this pool would be dried up before the man could return.

He fetched water from another pool close by and poured it into this one in hopes of restoring it.

The water stirred and bubbled as the pool swelled to three times its size. The child smiled in fascination at the effect, but frowned in dismay when once again the pool shrank to its former state.

He sat down by the pool, determined to stay until his father returned.

***

**AN: Apologizing for any inconsistencies. **

**Also apologizing for the painfully slow development of this fanfic; I've been painfully tired these days.**


End file.
